Caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou of Porcupine Herd, Wilbur Mills

Audubon There are two separate caribou herds found in the Arctic Refuge. The 907-276-7034 http://www.audubon.org/ Porcupine Caribou Herd – named after the found within its chapter/ak/ak range – which numbers about 128,000 and makes long migrations each ______year between winter habitat in Canada and Alaska south of the Brooks Alaska Conservation Alliance Range, and summer habitat (calving and post-calving) on the Arctic 907-258-6171 Refuge coastal plain.1 The second herd is the Central Arctic Herd, which www.akvoice.org ______uses the central portion of the North Slope including the area around Prudhoe Bay and the western part of the Refuge, and numbers about Alaska Wilderness League 27,000 .2,3 Almost 30 years of data have shown that the concentrat- 202-544-5205 www.alaskawild.org ed calving and post-calving area of the Porcupine herd is located within ______the Refuge’s coastal plain nearly every year.4 Both herds frequently use the

Arctic Connections northwest portion of the Refuge during the post-calving period for insect 907-272-1909 relief habitat. ______

Defenders of Wildlife One of the greatest myths concerning caribou is that oil development has 202-682-9400 caused an increase in the Central Arctic herd’s numbers. Before develop- www.savearcticrefuge.org 1,5 ______ment, the herd contained about 5,000 animals. Today it numbers around 27,000. This increase is largely attributable to several years with mild weather League of Conservation Voters and has nothing to do with development. In truth, the Central Arctic herd’s Education Fund 202-785-0730 calving activity has shifted away from developed areas to alternative www.voteenvironment.org calving grounds with poorer quality habitat.6,7,8,9,10,11 ______

Natural Resources The Porcupine herd has no alternative calving areas to shift to because of Defense Council the densities of the herd and the narrowness of the coastal plain within the 202-289-6868 www.savebiogems.org/arctic/ Arctic Refuge; there are 5 times more caribou in about one-fifth the area ______compared to Prudhoe Bay.12 On the few occasions when weather has

Trustees for Alaska prevented the Porcupine herd from reaching the coastal plain before 907-276-4244 calving, calf survival was significantly diminished.13 The caribou need the www.trustees.org coastal plain during the calving and post-calving periods because the core ______calving area of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain provides the highest quality U.S. PIRG forage, lowest density of predators, and optimal insect relief. Should they 202-546-9707 http://www.SaveTheArctic.org be forced to shift their calving activities away from the region because of oil ______development, calves would be vulnerable to higher predation and lower quality forage possibly leading to a decline in their numbers. Numerous The Wilderness Society 202-833-2300 scientific articles written by leading caribou researchers clearly document www.tws.org/wild/arctic that industrial development has resulted in changing caribou movements and distribution within the oil fields displacing caribou from the highest quality habitat. 14,15,16 Caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Porcupine Herd in late June, US Fish and Wildlife Service

1. Cameron, R.D., and K.R. Whitten. 1979. Seasonal movements and sexual segregation of caribou determined by aerial survey. J. Wildl. Manag. 43:626-633. 2. Whitten, K.R., Cameron. 1983. Movements of collared caribou, Rangifer tarandus, in relatin to petroleum develop- ment on the arctic slope of Alaska. Can. Field-Natur. 97(2):143-146.

3. Cameron, R.D., K.R. Whitten, W.T. Smith, and D.D. Roby. 1979. Caribou distribution and group comosition associated with construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Can Field-Natur. 93:155-162.

4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2001. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge official website: http://www.r7.fws.gov/nwr/arc- tic/muskox.html 5. Whitten, K.R., and R.D. Cameron. 1985. Distribution of caribou calving in relation to the Prudhoe Bay oilfield. In: Martell, A.M., and D.E. Russell, eds. Proceedings of the First North American Caribou Workshop, , . Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service. 33-39. 6. Dau, J.R., and R.D. Cameron. 1986. Effects of a road system on caribou distribution during calving. Rangifer, Special Issue No. 1:95-101. 7. Cameron, R.D., D.J. Reed, J.R. Dau, and W.T. Smith. 1992. Redistribution of calving caribou in response to oil field development on the arctic slope of Alaska. Arctic. 45:338-342. 8. Smith, W.T., R.D. Cameron, and D.J. Reed. 1994. Distribution and movements of caribou in relation to roads and pipelines, Kuparuk Development Area, 1978-1990. ADF&G, Wildl. Tech. Bull. 12. 54pp. 9. Nelleman, C., and R.D. Cameron. 1996. Terrain preferences of calving caribou exposed to petroleum development. Arctic 49:23-28. 10. Nellemann, C., and R.D. Cameron. 1998. Cumulative impacts of an evolving oilfield complex on calving caribou. Can. J. Zool. 76:1425-1430. 11. Wolfe, S.A. 2000. Habitat selection by calving caribou of the Central Arctic Herd, 1980-95. M.S. Thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK. 83 pp. 12. Fancy, S.G., and K.R. Whitten. 1991. Selection of calving sites by Porcupine herd caribou. Can. J. Zool. 69:1736- 1743. 13. Whitten, K.R., G.W. Graner, F.J. Mauer, and R.B. Harris. 1992. Productivity and early calf survival in the Porcupine caribou herd. J. Wildl. Manag. 56:201-212. 14. Cameron, R.D. 1995. Distribution and productivity of the Central Arctic Herd in relation to petroleum development: case history studies with a nutritional perspective. Fed. Aid in Wildl. Resp. Final Rept. AK. Dept. Fish and Game. Juneau. 35pp. 15. Smith, W.T., and R.D. Cameron. 1985. Reactions of large groups of caribou to a pipeline corridor on the arctic coastal plain of Alaska. Arctic. 38:53-57. 16. Arctic Caribou Experts. 2001. A letter to the President written by 13 of the world’s leading caribou experts on 12/11/2000, asking that the coastal plain of the refuge be protected from oil and gas development.